China’s ghost cities inspired Siang Lu’s new novel, which won the Miles Franklin Award in 2025 and Lu became the first male Asian writer to receive the $60,000 prize.
“They captured my imagination because of how eerie they were. They looked like real cities, with the paradox of fully functioning infrastructure – electricity, water, and traffic lights – but no people,” Lu said.
“Why build a city without people? They seemed like modern ruins, which I had always considered an ancient phenomenon. That was the starting point.”
Like his protagonist, Lu is a first-generation migrant from a Malaysian Chinese family who grew up in Australia without speaking Chinese. The origins of the book are rooted in the generations before him.
“My dad studied veterinary science at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. Although he came from a poor family, he received a full scholarship and always planned for us to migrate, which we did when I was four,” Lu said.
“I really admire him. Eventually, I realised how much he sacrificed to give us what he never had, including pursuing a career he was not passionate about.”
Ghost Cities is Lu’s second published work, but the first book he wrote.
“There is a contradiction in celebrating a book that initially failed, as if it were entirely new. It feels both untrue and genuine at the same time,” Lu said.
“The weight was finally off my shoulders after having won, and with the long path this book had taken, I hope to give inspiration and power back to writers.
“You move forward on faith that someone will read and connect with your work, but there are no guarantees. I shelved this book for almost a decade, so having people read it and see themselves reflected in its pages, regardless of their background, has been the greatest gift of my life.”
Lu acknowledges that much of his life is present in the book, though it is not autobiographical. He believes writers inevitably include parts of themselves in their work, which brings it to life.
“My mum and dad were neighbours, which is how their romance began. I am now the father of two, and we recently visited their village in Malaysia,” he said.
“On my dad’s side, there is only jungle; no trace remains of the family home. This made me both sad and somewhat proud.
“I remember turning to my dad and my children and saying, ‘This is why I wrote Ghost Cities: to guard against erasure and to preserve our family history in the book.’
“Those characters, feelings, and stories are present. Writing the book was a way to ensure that the stories of my parents and previous generations endure.”
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